BIMP might seem like a really weird acronym to the average person, but to those who take a lot of pictures, it’s one of the best time saving tools out there. Having been using it for a long time, join Timlah as he discusses the benefits of BIMP and addons.
BIMP stands for the Batch Image Manipulation Program, which is a specific addon for GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It’s worth noting that BIMP is free and has to be my favourite time saving tool, whether I am creating a GeekOut Bristol Meet gallery like this past Monday, or if I just want to reduce the brightness of an image like I did in my AmeCon Cosplay Masquerade gallery. I have been using BIMP for over a year and I don’t know what I would do without it. It’s become a part of my work life during GeekOut Media activities, so it’s not surprising that I have a lot to say about it.
Are you a fan of comics? DC and Marvel comics?! Do you want to see some awesome cosplays by another member of the amazing cosplay community? Check out Neil Whitehead of Moonset Cosplay – you won’t regret it!
Welcome back to Cosplayer Highlight, where we delve into the creative minds of some craft-smart people who like to get dressed up, becoming a character… and they also tell us why they do what they do!
This week we’re joined by Moonset Cosplay, the partner of Lion Pride Cosplay. I’ve seen this guys works and honestly, he does some amazing cosplays from comics (Marvel/DC). Along with Rebecca, we’ve been spoilt by an incredible cosplaying duo. It’s time for us to see the other side of the coin of these two, because we’re about to see some amazing hero and villain cosplays, along with our usual hard hitting questions (that really aren’t hard hitting at all).
With all this said and done: It’s time for us to get back into the swing of things and question our next interviewee!
Welcome to Cosplayer Highlight, where we are joined by an incredible Cosplayer from the cosplay community.
Today we’re joined by a familiar face from a previous Cosplayer Highlight in Komplex from the Cosplay Duo, the British Bumpkins. We thought we’d interview these two lovely ladies separately this time around and see what’s new for each of them.
So read on for another awesome interview with an incredible member of the cosplay community.
Welcome to Cosplayer Highlight, where we are joined by an incredible Cosplayer from the cosplay community.
Today we’re joined by a familiar face from a previous Cosplayer Highlight in Komplex from the Cosplay Duo, the British Bumpkins. We thought we’d interview these two lovely ladies separately this time around and see what’s new for each of them.
So read on for another awesome interview with an incredible member of the cosplay community.
Welcome back once more to Cosplayer Highlight. You might have noticed this week was a two for one special – That’s because this was the one that was due last week, but we suffered a technical hitch.
The video didn’t come out as intended, so instead of wasting the slot, we figured we’d fill this week with not one, but two Cosplayer Highlight articles just for you lovely readers.
Much like the person we interviewed today, Komplex from The British Bumpkins, TPJerematic has been interviewed by us before. As he’s helped us provide some awesome pictures of cosplayers before, I thought I’d provide not an interview this time, but an update and a special thanks to TPJerematic.
Welcome back once more to Cosplayer Highlight. You might have noticed this week was a two for one special – That’s because this was the one that was due last week, but we suffered a technical hitch.
The video didn’t come out as intended, so instead of wasting the slot, we figured we’d fill this week with not one, but twoCosplayer Highlight articles just for you lovely readers.
Much like the person we interviewed today, Komplex from The British Bumpkins, TPJerematic has been interviewed by us before. As he’s helped us provide some awesome pictures of cosplayers before, I thought I’d provide not an interview this time, but an update and a special thanks to TPJerematic.
Panasonic are well known for making some good cameras, standing near the top of the ladder with the likes of Canon and Olympus. As a complete newbie to photography (with the exception of taking pictures for new employees on their photo-passes), I thought I’d finally invest in a real camera which I could use to take to conventions and events with me.
I’ve spent a few weeks with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 now and I thought I’d give you my own style of tech-review: This is a review of the Panasonic Lumic DMC-G5 to a complete newbie and what we’d care about initially.
About the Lumix DMC-G5
The Panasonic Lumix has a nice big feel to it, with a good weight too – It’s hard to let this beauty go!
This is a CSC (Compact System Camera) which mimics the style of a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) camera.
What this means to someone uninitiated with cameras is that it’s got the style of one of those nice big ol’ lens cameras that you see professionals use. The price I got mine for was around the £230 mark, which is much better value than a good DSLR/SLR camera. So, due to its cheap pricing and the fact it’s an imitator, you’d think the photo quality on this would be pretty poor, wouldn’t you?
Think again..!
A good starters lens
With a 14-42mm focal length, this lens is perfect for the absolute beginner, like me!
The Lumix DMC-G5 can be bought either as just the body, or you can get it with the lens. Mine came with the standard lens at the £230 price range. Considering this camera came out a couple of years ago (2012, in fact) the price range and the lens as well as the body for the price I paid for it – It’s nothing short of a bargain.
The lens has produced some awesome pictures for me and the fact the camera does some pretty fancy work by itself is nothing short of a saviour for someone like me.
Like if you ever get stared down by a member of Ouran High School Host Club!
There is even an Intelligent Auto feature, which tries to make the best pictures possible for you. The above picture was taken with the intelligent auto mode, which as you can see has done a very good job of a picture that could have potentially been quite noisy due to the closeness.
The picture was taken within 1 second of the pose being struck, mostly because it was amusing at the time. When we looked at the picture, we were stunned at the quality of such a quick shot.
The Lumix also came with its own strap which for me was an important piece of kit. How else would I carry it around? It didn’t come with a case, but I simply popped to my local camera shop who allowed me to try several cases before settling with a fair sized case for £20.
This is a 16 megapixel camera which does get noisy when you start to focus on range rather than close ups. With this said, as most people within photography would tell you: It’s not the body that does all the work: It’s the lens.
Yet, I feel inclined to talk more about the body.
The body
As well as everything mentioned above, the camera body itself is easy to grip and hold. It’s weighted nicely and doesn’t feel unbalanced at all. The choice of material means it’s good to hold as well and you never feel out of control with it; which may seem like an odd thing to say, but I’ve held cameras which have been a pain to hold previously.
The standard strap that comes with the camera helps to keep the brand, if you’re really into branding your stuff..!
One point I’d like to make is that in the settings, you can actually change to a mode which has a “spirit level” feature. I am sure this is standard of all cameras, but let me tell you: it’s amazing! If you’re the king of uneven pictures (like me), then you’ll know how much of a godsend this is.
The memory cards the camera can take are: SD memory cards, SDHC memory cards and SDXC memory cards. I had an 8GB SDHC memory card floating around and each picture takes between 6mb-7mb at the standard settings. The camera also does video, which I hope to be showing off soon as it does some amazing High Definition videos for a camera that’s not a dedicated camcorder!
This view was taken at Sandy Bay. Whilst it won’t win any photograph of the year awards, it shows off the detail the Lumix can go to. Scaled down to 640×380, that is.
With a good viewfinder and great features, the DMC-G5 is an amazing model.
Speaking of great features: I’ve not told you about the screen on the back, have I?
The screen
Whilst I don’t have any pictures of this, I do have a bit of information about it to share with you all.
The screen is actually a touch-screen as well as the usual arrows and okay button to operate. This camera pulled out all the stops to be as easy to use as possible, as well as being compact enough to carry, yet still large enough to pull off some amazing shots.
The screen can rotate and be pulled to the side, so that you can show people other than yourself or just use it as a screen to look at when taking pictures. It has a high resolution screen which works nicely with most lighting conditions although the first night of use which was the last pub meet for GeekOut South-West, we pulled off some terrible shots. I blame the guy who was fiddling with the settings although it was likely my fault for being such an amateur!
Verdict
I honestly think as far as cameras go, I have picked the best I could have. You can find these cameras on eBay and the usual places. I was originally going to buy this from Jessops, however just as I went to purchase, they stopped stocking it. Typical!
I’ll give this camera a very respectable 4.5/5. I am sure there are many ways this can be improved and the lens isn’t the best in the world: But for the price and everything combined, this truly is the best way to start a potential hobby in photography. After all; they say a good camera will last you for many years and becomes your favourite camera. Let’s hope that’s the case!
What do you think about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5? Do you have a camera that’s close to your heart? Drop us a comment if you thought this review was at all useful, as if people like these little snips of technology, we’ll bring more your way… Not necessarily just cameras, mind you!
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